A five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI) might face a setback even before the start of the IPL 2024. Their newly made captain, Hardik Pandya is likely to miss the IPL 2024 as there is no clarity on his availability. The star all-rounder is suffering from an ankle injury and there is a strong possibility that he will miss the 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan. Not just the Afghanistan series, PTI reported that there is a strong possibility that Hardik Pandya will miss the IPL 2024 as well. Let’s talk about it in detail.
Hardik Pandya May Miss IPL 2024
Hardik Pandya picked up an ankle injury during the India vs Bangladesh ICC World Cup 2023 game. He misses the rest of the tournament due to the injury.
According to the reports by the news agency PTI, the all-rounder Hardik Pandya is likely to miss the IPL 2024 due to the injury. There is no clarity on his fitness and availability. At one stage, it looks like he will come back in the Afghanistan series. But after a while, some reports suggested that he will be back to playing professional cricket in the IPL 2024.
But, because of the uncertainty on his fitness, a 30-year-old all-rounder might miss the upcoming Indian Premier League IPL season as well.
A Huge Blow For Mumbai Indians
It will be a huge blow if Hardik Pandya misses the IPL 2024. They have traded the all-rounder from Gujarat Titans (GT) for a whopping INR 15 crore. Not just in monetary terms, but his skill set will also be missed as he gives the right balance to the team because of his all-round ability.
Hardik Pandya Was Announced As The Captain of Mumbai Indians As Well
Mumbai Indians made him a captain of the team as well. The franchise is looking at the future and replaced him with their most successful captain Rohit Sharma.
Also, we have seen on social media that MI fans were not happy with this decision from the MI franchise. The fans’ reactions sum up all the things. They want Rohit Sharma to stay as captain of the franchise. If Hardik Pandya doesn’t get fit on time, MI will not only lost a player but also their captain.
Was it a good move by MI to give captaincy to Hardik Pandya?
If we look at the past, Rohit Sharma has done exceptionally well as captain to win five IPL trophies. Before Rohit took the captaincy, MI didn’t win any IPL title. But since 2013, they have won 5 titles(2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020) in his captaincy. So they would have continued with their most successful captain.
But, the Mumbai Indians franchise is looking from the future point of view. Rohit Sharma has now limited time left in his cricketing career. And they would have thought that Hardik Pandya would be his successor in the future. Pandya has won a title as captain in the inaugural season of Gujarat Titans. He also took his team to the final in the IPL 2023 as well. So the sample size is good enough for him to be in the captaincy role.
Also, he becomes the captain of the Indian T20I team as well. Although it wasn’t official, but looking at the atmosphere and the way Pandya gave some statements in the press conferences, he became the regular T20I captain. But his regular injuries cost him a permanent captaincy role.
Who will captain MI in the absence of Hardik?
If Hardik Pandya misses the IPL 2024, Rohit Sharma will again become the captain of the team, at least for one more season.
MI has a few more captaincy options as well in Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah. Both have done captaincy for India in some games. But Rohit Sharma will be the frontrunner in that case.
A Blow For Team India As Well
Not just for MI, Hardik not playing is a blow for Team India as well. Just after the IPL 2024, there will be an all-important ICC World T20 in the US and West Indies.
If he doesn’t get some game time before the WT20, it will be hard for him to come directly to the marquee tournament.
Conclusion
So this is the news coming in regarding Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians. MI franchise has to tinker their combination in the absence of Hardik Pandya. Let’s see what they do if this scenario happens.
What do you think? Who will be the captain of MI in Hardik’s absence? And how far will MI go in the IPL 2024? Will they win their 6th title? Comment all your predictions below in the comment section.
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FAQ’s:-
(1) Who has scored the most runs for Mumbai Indians in the IPL till now?
Rohit Sharma, with 5314 runs is the highest run scorer for MI in the IPL till now. He has scored those runs at an average of 29.52 and a strike rate of almost 130. In 203 innings in IPL, he scored 35 half-centuries and a hundred as well.
(2) Which bowler has taken most wickets for MI in the IPL history?
Sri Lankan legend, Lasith Malinga has the most wickets for MI in the IPL till now. He has taken 195 wickets in 139 games with an average of 19.35 and a strike rate of 16.30.
(3) What was MI’s position in the IPL 2023?
MI finished at No. 4 in the IPL 2023 points table with 8 wins in 14 games. They lost the 2nd Qualifier to Gujarat Titans and got out of the tournament.
